A BOLTON pets company delivered Christmas dinner to abandoned dogs this year as part of a new campaign.

This comes as more than 3.2 million pets were reportedly bought by UK households during lockdown, and some dog owners found that their new pet was more trouble to look after than they had anticipated.

As a result, more than five per cent of those who had bought a pet during the pandemic have already given it up, according to research by the Pet Food Manufacturers Association.

This also led to a number of dogs being dumped on the doorsteps of charities.

Dr. Beckmann - the manufacturer of a leading pet stain and odour remover - launched a Christmas campaign to bring some festive cheer to dogs at Manchester & Cheshire Dogs’ home.

Dr. Beckmann’s Susan Fermor, said: “We don’t just manufacture the UK’s best-selling pet stain and odour remover, we are committed to doing what we can to help Britain’s dogs.

“We already have a great working relationship with Manchester & Cheshire Dogs Home and have partnered with them before to help make life a little easier for the dogs and the home.

“When we saw the figures showing that lockdown has caused a deluge of abandoned dogs since the easing of restrictions, we had to act.

“So we worked to design and produce a special Christmas dinner of raw turkey food for the lovely dogs at the home. It is the least we could do.

“We have given the dogs there a big Christmas celebration, with toys and decorations, party hats and, of course, the main event - their scrummy Christmas dinner.”

The cleaning brand has rebranded from Dr. Beckmann to Dr. Petmann to launch its Christmas campaign - which will see the brand deliver 100 specially produced portions of premium doggy Christmas dinner to the abandoned pooches at the home near Warrington.

Dr. Beckmann Pet Stain & Odour Remover is available at a wide range of retailers and online at Amazon and www.dr-beckmann.co.uk